Dear
Uncle Al,
Here's
a couple situations which arose during a local regatta last
weekend. (It's a small regatta hosted by a primarily recreational
club).
In the end, because the race was
small and recreational in nature, this protest was withdrawn. However, as a result, there is still no
agreement about who was correct. Could you
give us your interpretation?
Boat C was sailing close hauled on the
layline for the starboard start mark, with about 30 seconds until the
start. Boat A and B were fetching the
starboard mark. When it became clear that
Boats A and B were going to barge at the mark, Boat C began calling for
her leeward rights. Neither Boat A nor
Boat B made any change of course. As the
start approached, Boat C continued calling “Leeward!”.
This time, Boat B called for Boat A to give her
room (as the leeward boat), but Boat A did not respond and held her
course. Boat C called one last time for
leeward rights, and Boat B responded that Boat A would not give her
room. Boat C was forced to bear away to
avoid collision just before the start and Boats A and B sailed over her. Boat C called “Protest!”
Boat C protested both Boat A and B
under Rule 11, claiming that both boats had failed to keep clear of a
overlapped, leeward boat sailing on the same tack.
Boat B claimed that she did not have room to keep
clear (because of Boat A’s actions). Boat C counter-claimed that Boat B
had plenty of time to manoeuvre as it was plain she was barging long
before the boats met. Have Boats A and B
violated Rule 11? Has Boat B violated Rule
11 even though she had no room to manoeuvre between Boats A and C?
If Boat B claimed that Boat C had
luffed up (i.e. changed course), could Boat B have used Rule 16 as a
defence, saying that Boat C hadn’t given her room to keep clear after
changing course?
Thanks for your help,
Todd